Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Preview

With such a rich history of fighting videogames, Capcom has been steadily releasing collections over the past few years. From Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection to last year's MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, it’s been a real treat to get some true arcade greats on modern hardware. So, when we here at GameGrin had the opportunity to preview Capcom Fighting Collection 2, I jumped at the chance to play!

With some of my all-time favourite fighters from my childhood in one package — including Power Stone 2 and Project Justice — this heavy dose of nostalgia is something I’ve been eagerly anticipating since it was announced back in 2024. With six of the eight titles available in this preview build, the majority of the games were available for me to try out. So, let’s get ready to rumble!

First off, it’s worth mentioning the presentation of the main menu as a whole. It’s a real throwback to the days of the Dreamcast (a time I miss dearly), with an overly enthusiastic announcer, high-intensity music tracks, and a simple, clean interface that’s effortless to navigate. It’s very easy to jump into, and out of, each game, as well as adjust specific settings such as the difficulty, round time, and whether or not to disable any secret characters. Some will even have their own specific settings — changing between Capcom Vs. SNK 2’s original and EO versions, for example — allowing for a good amount of customisation across each of the titles.

There’s also the option to switch between the English and Japanese releases, giving players the chance to see how each of the regional editions varied from one another. When in a game, you’re also able to quickly see your current character's moves, as well as view a Marquee Card that gives a brief rundown on each title, with some tips and tricks for each one. If you’re a fighting game buff, there is plenty to get excited about before you’ve even started your first round!

Taking a brief look at each of the six titles available in the preview, there’s a lot of variety with what’s available in this collection. The 2D offerings, namely Capcom vs. SNK Pro, Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, all look fantastic still. Sprite-based fighting game graphics always seem to hold up well, and these three are no exception. The 3D games, Power Stone 2, Project Justice, and Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein, do look a little more dated, but by no means are worse to play because of it. Project Justice and Plasma Sword are still fought on a 2D plane, whereas Power Stone 2 utilises a full 3D arena shown from a fixed camera perspective. Of all six available in the preview, I felt Plasma Sword was perhaps the clunkiest during gameplay, and I couldn’t quite get to grips with the combat, despite it being not too dissimilar to the others on offer.

One very important point that may deter players looking to get their classic Capcom fighting fix is that these titles are based on the original arcade releases, not the console ports. That means no Adventure Mode in Power Stone 2, for example, just the arcade modes and training options. This may be a slight disappointment for some, but with such a well-rounded collection of brilliant brawling games, there’s still lots for fighting fans to learn (or not, if you’re already an expert at some of them!). Thankfully, the dedicated training modes do a great job of ensuring you’re not just thrown in at the deep end.

Online modes are also available for all titles, and there’s a great amount of choice that's more than simply picking one of the games and matching up with another player. You’ve got the standard casual and ranked matches, which allow players to pick any or all of the titles available to search for a match, as well as being able to set up a custom lobby and participate in high score challenges under set rules. Then, whilst waiting for an online opponent, you can wait in the menu, play some single-player, or browse the museum. Whilst I wasn’t able to find anyone online (unsurprising, considering the game isn’t out yet), Capcom have confirmed that rollback netcode will be in all eight titles, something competitive players will be incredibly pleased with!

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is sure to delight any gamers who love competitive fighting games, as well as those who are looking to reminisce about these late 90s to early 2000s videogames. The other two titles in this collection that haven’t been mentioned in the preview are Power Stone and Capcom Fighting Evolution, rounding out the total to eight playable Capcom classics. There’s not too long to wait, either, as the full game is set to release on 16th May 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.